Secret Agent Father (8 page)

She huddled with Cody, missing Alex’s warm presence. Somehow, being with him, the two of them caring for Cody, felt right. Sharing her secrets with Alex hadn’t been as difficult as she’d imagined.

She was starting to care for him.

And that thought scared her more than being caught in the middle of a snowstorm.

Alex didn’t completely relax until he’d gotten Shelby and Cody safely tucked into Kayla’s SUV which Rafe had brought to pick them up.

That had been a close call. Too close. If they hadn’t had Rafe’s Jeep, complete with the camping supplies in
the back, there was a very good chance they would have died from hypothermia exposure before Rafe had been able to rescue them.

Had that been the truck driver’s plan?

Alex had to believe it was. He’d given Rafe all the details leading up to their crash and Rafe agreed that, somehow, the smoker who’d been watching outside the bed-and-breakfast had followed them.

The roads were still in bad shape, so it took them longer than planned to reach the small motel, located in the middle of a dinky town that was nothing but a speck on most road maps.

“I’ll order something to eat,” Alex said, after they’d secured two connecting rooms. “At least there’s a small café attached, or we’d really be in trouble.”

Shelby nodded, looking relieved to have decent living quarters after the time they’d spent in a makeshift tent. He guessed she was still chilled when she’d immediately crossed the room to crank up the heat.

“Keep the connecting door unlocked, would you?” he asked. “Rafe and I will be right next door. We’ll let you know when the pizza arrives.”

“Sure,” she said with an exhausted smile.

“Maybe we should take shifts staying on guard tonight,” Rafe suggested in a low tone after they’d left Shelby and Cody alone. “Just in case.”

“You’re probably right, although I don’t see how we could have been followed,” Alex said with a sigh. “There wasn’t another soul behind us once we got off the main highway. This town isn’t exactly a hot spot.”

“I know, but I still don’t like it that you were followed at all,” Rafe said with a scowl.

He didn’t like it, either. “You arranged to have Shelby’s car returned to Green Bay?”

Rafe nodded. “Everything worked out fine. Two friends of mine picked up Shelby’s car. Kayla, Brianna and Ellen are safe at the resort. I was heading back to Green Bay myself when you called.”

“I’m going to get cleaned up a bit,” Alex said. “By then the pizza should be here. If you want to take shifts, tonight, that’s fine with me.”

“I’ll take the first shift, since you look like you could use some sleep.”

Alex doubted he’d be able to sleep, no matter how exhausted he was. Those moments the black truck had rammed into them would be forever etched in his mind. What if something had happened to Cody? Or Shelby? The thought of either of them being injured, or worse, made him feel sick to his stomach. They’d only been part of his life for a couple of days, but suddenly he couldn’t imagine living without them.

He cleaned up in the bathroom and when he emerged ten minutes later, he could smell the enticing scent of pizza. Rafe and Shelby were speaking in low tones in the room next door.

When he stepped through the connecting door, he abruptly stopped, surprised to see Rafe, Shelby and Cody, all sitting with their heads bowed, as Rafe prayed.

“Dear Lord, thank You for providing us food to eat and shelter from the storm. We are grateful to have You watching over us and providing for us. Amen.”

Awkwardly, he stood and waited for them to finish before coming farther into the room. He and Rafe had been partners over the past few years while working this
case, but it wasn’t as if they’d spent a lot of time together, considering he’d been deep undercover as a longshoreman. He’d seen the simple gold cross Rafe wore like a talisman around his neck, but Alex had figured it was more for decoration rather than as a true symbol of Rafe’s religious beliefs.

Obviously, he’d been wrong.

After they finished the pizza, Alex cleaned up the mess while Shelby tucked Cody into bed. Rafe went outside to do a perimeter check around the hotel area to make sure there was nothing suspicious. Alex stood in the entryway between their rooms, watching as Cody finished up his prayers.

He gestured Shelby over when she doused the lamp next to the beds, leaving just the bathroom light on.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Shelby, while Rafe is outside, I want to talk to you. It’s important.” Alex pulled up two chairs, so they could sit down.

“All right,” she agreed, her expression wary. “What is it?”

He took a deep breath, trying to think of a way to tell her. He wanted to say something sooner, when she’d bared her secrets about the attacks but Rafe’s arrival had interrupted them.

There was just no easy way to break the news. “I was there that night,” he finally said. “At the shipyard. When you were attacked. I happened to be coming toward the warehouse, when I heard something. When I turned to look, I saw the guy grab you.”

“You saw him? You can identify him?” The hope in her voice only made him feel worse.

“I wish I could, but his back was toward me and since he was dressed like every other longshoreman with a knit cap pulled over his head, I couldn’t tell who he was. But I created a diversion, which was when he hit you and left you there. Once he’d gotten away from you, I called the police. I went over to make sure you were okay, staying by your side until I heard the sirens. I left before the police arrived, so I wouldn’t risk blowing my cover.”

She gaped at him. “You didn’t tell the police what you saw?”

He slowly shook his head. “No. I’m sorry, but I couldn’t be seen cooperating with the police. Not when I was trying to behave like the kind of guy who wanted to be included in the action of the drug running operation.”

“I see.” She dropped her gaze to her hands, twisted tightly in her lap.

“Shelby, I’m so sorry. Please try to understand. If I’d had information that would help the police catch the guy, I would have left an anonymous tip. But I didn’t see anything that would help me identify him.”

“I understand, really.” Shelby’s attempt at a smile was pitiful.

“Why did you go down to the warehouse that night?” he asked, puzzled. It had only been a fleeting moment in the middle of his case and he hadn’t immediately recognized Shelby as the woman who he’d helped back then.

“I was looking for Trina and my father said she was down at the warehouse.”

The warehouse where there were likely hidden drugs. Why would Russ Jacobson send Shelby to the shipyard where rough longshoremen hung out? He stared at her,
trying to remember what she’d looked like back then. “You wore your hair shorter, didn’t you?”

“Yes. And it was much lighter from being out in the sun.”

Realization dawned and he wondered why he hadn’t thought of this earlier. “I bet the guy who attacked you mistook you for Trina!”

S
helby stared at Alex, her mind whirling. It was difficult to comprehend that Alex had been there the night of her attack, risking his cover to help her. The idea that he was there, looking out for her while she was unconscious, was oddly reassuring.

But was he right in that the attacker thought she was her sister? Shelby forced herself to go back to that night in her mind, dragging long buried memories to the surface.

She was walking toward the warehouse located at the farthest end of the shipyard. The area was not well lit, several of the overhead lights were burned out. She’d thought she was alone.

The hint of cigarette smoke made her wrinkle her nose. A male voice had called, “Trina?”

She shook her head as she started to turn around to see who’d called her Trina. But the smell of cigarettes got stronger. Hard fingers dug into her arms. Before she could scream, something hard had struck her in the temple. Darkness surrounded her.

She winced a bit, remembering the pain in her head when she’d finally awakened in the hospital, surrounded by medical personnel. The police had been there, asking
her over and over again if she’d seen the man who’d attacked her.

She hadn’t. But she’d remembered the stench, the thick odor of cigarette smoke. And the bitter taste of fear as she wondered if he’d done anything else to her. Ever since that night, she’d been afraid of the dark, had asked for God’s strength to help conquer her fears.

Up until tonight, she hadn’t remembered her attacker had called her by her sister’s name.

“Shelby?” Alex took hold of her hand, breaking her from her reverie. “Are you all right?”

For a moment she stared at their entwined hands, before raising her eyes to meet his compassionate gaze. “You’re right. He did mistake me for Trina at first,” she finally admitted. “But I responded seconds before I started to turn around. Just as I caught a glimpse of him, he attacked.”

His fingers tightened around hers and the expression in his eyes was full of agony. “I’m sorry I couldn’t stop him, Shelby. I’m so sorry.”

She tried to smile. “It’s okay. The point is that I don’t think he attacked me because he thought I was Trina. Quite the opposite. I believe he attacked me because I
wasn’t
Trina. Because when he realized who I was, he didn’t want me anywhere near the warehouse.”

He sucked in a harsh breath. “That makes sense. The minute he knew you weren’t Trina, he had to get rid of you to stop you from stumbling into something you shouldn’t.” His gaze was thoughtful. “I wonder if a big drug shipment was scheduled to come in that night?”

She didn’t like the sound of that. “You’re telling me they trusted Trina with drug smuggling information?”
she asked, appalled. “That they considered her part of that business?”

“I’m afraid so.” Alex’s expression was one of chagrined guilt. “You need to know, it was Trina’s idea from the very beginning. She was trying to gain their trust, so she could get information about the identity of the drug smugglers. She felt it was the only way to prove your father was innocent.”

She wrapped her arms around her stomach, feeling sick. When Alex had told her Trina was feeding the DEA and coast guard information, she hadn’t realized exactly what that role had entailed. But the image he painted was all too real.

Trina had been acting like an undercover agent, much like Alex had been.

And now Trina was dead.

“So that’s why they killed her,” she whispered.

Alex’s expression turned grim. “Yes, that’s the only explanation that makes sense to me, too.”

The sound of the hotel room door opening prevented them from saying anything further. Rafe stepped inside, stomping the snow from his boots.

“I don’t think it’s snowing much, but the wind is still blowing pretty hard,” Rafe informed them. “I made a huge path around the hotel and I didn’t see a single soul who was brave enough to be hanging around outside in this weather. I made note of the cars parked here at the hotel, and I’ll run them through the computer. But even without that, I think we’re safe for the night.”

“Thanks, Rafe,” Alex said. He turned to Shelby, gesturing to the connecting room. “You’d better get some
rest. It’s been a long day. We’ll come up with some sort of action plan first thing in the morning.”

“All right. Good night, Rafe, Alex.” She closed the connecting door most of the way to give her some privacy, leaving it unlocked in case of an emergency.

Knowing they were safe at last, sleep should have come easily, but it didn’t. Instead she kept thinking about the night she was attacked, the moment she’d turned to look at who’d called her sister’s name.

A blurred face hovered on the edges of her memory, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get that momentary glimpse of the man’s face to focus.

When Shelby woke up the next morning, the sun was shining brightly through the windows. Rubbing her gritty eyes, she realized with relief the snowstorm was over.

Her gaze sought Cody, but his bed was empty. She scrambled out of bed to search for him, her heart racing.

Of course, she needn’t have worried. The connecting door between the rooms was standing ajar and she soon discovered Cody was bonding with Rafe and Alex, putting a pretty big dent into a box of doughnuts, no doubt purchased from the café next door.

“I never get to eat sweets for breakfast,” Cody was saying, his mouth full of Boston crème. “Aunt Shelby always says we hav’ta eat healthy.” He made the last word sound like something disgusting.

Miffed, she turned away. Ridiculous as it was, she resented having to be the role model parent, while Alex showered Cody with all the fun stuff.

“We would be eating healthy, too, Cody, if we had a stove to cook on,” Alex said. “Don’t expect this every
day. We’re only having doughnuts for breakfast as a special treat.”

She paused, mollified by his words.

“’Cause we got in a car crash and fell down the hill?” Cody asked.

“Yes, exactly,” Alex agreed. “And because you were such a good boy as we walked through the storm to find shelter.”

“How come we didn’t see any wild animals?” Cody wanted to know.

A wry smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she listened to Alex’s drawn out response. He didn’t seem to mind playing the role of father to Cody, and she was happy they were adjusting so quickly to spending time together.

But as she was about to turn away, she hesitated. If she left Cody alone with Alex while she cleaned up, would he take the opportunity to question the boy about what he’d seen the night Trina died?

Alex had promised he wouldn’t question Cody without her permission. She’d trusted Alex to keep them safe, and maybe it was time to trust him to keep his word. She silently closed the connecting door and used the few moments of privacy to freshen up in the bathroom.

When she returned twenty minutes later, feeling much better, she joined the men in the next room.

“What’s the plan?” she asked, saying a quick prayer of thanks before she helped herself to the last doughnut. She was very grateful to have something to put in her stomach. “Where are we going from here?”

Alex’s expression was serious, as he turned to her. “Do you think it would be okay for Cody to watch cartoons for a while?” he asked.

The doughnut sank like a rock to the bottom of her stomach. Whatever they needed to discuss, Alex didn’t want Cody around to hear it.

“Sure. Are you finished eating, Cody?”

“Yeah.” He wiped his hands on his pants and she hid a wince.

“All right, let’s go find the cartoon channel for a while, okay?” She led Cody back to their room and turned on the television for him. When he was settled in, she returned to Alex and Rafe.

“He doesn’t usually watch much TV so I don’t know how long the cartoons will hold his attention,” she warned.

The two men exchanged a solemn glance. “Sit down, then. There’s some new information that you need to know.”

Truly worried now, she sat. “What is it? What’s going on?”

Alex leaned forward. “We got some information from Logan Quail, he’s the DEA agent that was sent in to help replace me when I was shot.”

She frowned. “I thought you said it was too late, that no one could replace you?”

“No one could replace Alex’s undercover role,” Rafe corrected. “Or his knowledge of the case after all this time. But we did get Logan to help keep an eye on things. He’s not undercover in the shipyard as a longshoreman, but he has managed to get a job in the local packing plant nearby.”

She supposed that did make some sense. With Alex recovering, the DEA needed to have someone stationed in Green Bay.

“Logan called first thing this morning with some dis
turbing news,” Alex continued. “Your father’s foreman has been found dead.”

“Bobby Drake is dead?” She paled. “What happened?”

Rafe shrugged. “Looks like it could be suicide, but we won’t know until the ME finishes his report. Suicide or murder, either way, we suspect his death is related to the case.”

Alex glanced at her. “And just so you know, there’s another weird piece of the puzzle. Your stepmother moved out of your father’s house.”

“Marilyn?” She raised a brow. “Moved out? Are you sure? I just spoke to her the other day.”

“When?” Alex’s tone was sharp.

“The first day I arrived at the bed-and-breakfast. Don’t glare at me like that, I told you I called my father. Marilyn answered the phone.”

Alex scrubbed a hand over his face and softened his tone. “You’re right, that is strange. Rafe, tell her exactly what Logan said.”

“Logan heard that Russ Jacobson had stormed into to the police station, claiming that Marilyn was missing. A good portion of her personal items were gone, too, but he claimed that she wouldn’t have left him voluntarily.” Rafe spread his hands wide. “After reviewing the evidence, the police felt differently.”

Her poor father. She and Trina hadn’t gotten along very well with their stepmother, but they’d accepted her into the family, regardless. Now she’d moved out? It didn’t make much sense.

“That doesn’t sound like Marilyn,” Shelby mused. “To leave like that. I mean, she and my father have been married for nearly five years. She wasn’t my favorite
person in the world, but as a couple, they seemed to get along well enough. And she certainly enjoyed spending his money.”

Alex’s expression grew grim. “Shelby, you need to know there have been a lot of rumors over the past few months. About your stepmother’s infidelity.”

Her eyes widened. “You mean she’s cheating on my father?”

Rafe shrugged. “Maybe. It’s only a rumor at this point, but it does appear incriminating that she suddenly moved out of your father’s house. Some people have suggested she was having an affair with Bobby Drake.”

“I thought you said he was dead?”

“He is, but it’s possible he killed himself over her. Could be she broke off things with him and took up with someone else.”

“Bobby Drake doesn’t seem to be her type,” she protested. “She likes spending money.”

First her father had lost Trina and now his wife. How was he holding up? She remembered how different he’d sounded on the phone, as if the weight of the world rested on his shoulders. “I should be there for him,” she murmured.

“It’s too dangerous to go back,” Alex reminded her gently. “Right now, keeping Cody safe is our main concern.”

He was right, she knew it. But the thought of her father dealing with all of this alone ripped her heart into tiny pieces.

“There’s a death notice in this morning’s paper for Trina,” Rafe said, breaking into the prolonged silence.
“Her funeral service is scheduled in three days, for this upcoming Thursday.”

“I really want to be there for the funeral,” she said.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea—” Alex started, but she quickly cut him off.

“It’s important,” she insisted. “For me, my father and for Cody.”

Especially for Cody, who deserved the chance to say goodbye to his mother one last time.

“Don’t,” Rafe said, grabbing Alex’s arm to prevent him from following Shelby as she stalked off to the connecting hotel room. “You’re not going to talk her out of this one, my friend.”

Alex sat down with a heavy sigh, wishing there was some way to make Shelby see reason. “Why is she being so stubborn? It’s too dangerous to go back, even for a funeral.”

“Would you miss Kayla’s funeral?” Rafe asked reasonably.

No, he wouldn’t. “That’s different,” he protested weakly. “There’s not someone after me. Besides, Kayla and I are very close.”

Rafe raised a brow. “And you don’t think Shelby feels the same way about Trina? Or that Cody deserves the opportunity to say goodbye to his mother?”

Alex groaned and buried his face in his hands. “Okay, fine. Great. If Shelby and Cody are really going to return to Green Bay for the funeral, you have to help me dream up some plan that will keep them safe.”

“That will be a challenge.” Rafe scratched his jaw. “Maybe we need to come up with a different approach.
Maybe instead of avoiding the place, we should head there right away. Today.”

“Are you crazy?” Alex nearly shouted. “No. Absolutely not. Risk Cody’s life? And Shelby’s?”

“Calm down and think this through logically,” Rafe said in a stern voice. “Trina’s shooting triggered a domino effect. Shelby and Cody were traced to Kayla’s bed-and-breakfast. Then Bobby Drake’s death. Now this stuff with Marilyn.” He shook his head slowly. “Marilyn’s disappearing act might be nothing, but I think we’re missing putting pieces of this puzzle together because we’re hiding out instead of being in the thick of things in Green Bay.”

Alex clenched his jaw. Rafe was right. If not for Shelby and Cody being in danger, he wouldn’t think twice about heading back to Green Bay. Except for one tiny problem. “Have you forgotten I’m not cleared to return to active duty?”

Rafe glanced down at his injured right arm. “How accurate are you with your left hand?”

“Not accurate enough,” he responded tersely, opening and closing the fingers of his left hand, wishing for the impossible. “I can hit a large target from a distance of fifty feet without a problem, but anything requiring more finesse or a longer distance…” he shrugged. “I wouldn’t bet anyone else’s life on my ability, that’s for sure.”